The present invention relates generally to automotive safety devices and, more specifically, to an adjustable anchor for a child restraint seat.
Proper use of child restraint seats is of critical importance in the transport of children and infants. Traditionally, child restraint seats, such as infant seats and child seats, are placed on a passenger seat in an automobile and secured in place with the automobile seat belt. In recent years, there has been increased appreciation that child restraint seats are often not properly secured in the automotive interior, increasing the risk of injury to the child or infant. In an attempt to address this safety concern, there is an ongoing push to provide standardized anchors for securing child restraint seats. Such standardized anchors will provide a consistent and secure anchoring location to retain a child restraint seat. One approach has been to provide a rigid attachment anchor protruding from the point where the seat bottom cushion and back cushion intersect in an existing automobile interior. This loop provides a secure attachment for a child restraint system. While these anchors may provide safety benefits, they also have several potential drawbacks. First, there is some concern among safety experts that the rigid anchor may cause injury to the hip of an adult passenger seated in a seat with the anchor during a collision. Additionally, the anchors may be in the way when a user of the automobile attempts to slide either themselves or an object across the seat. Finally, the appearance of a rigid loop of metal projecting from the intersection of the seat bottom cushion and seat back cushion may be aesthetically undesirable.
The present invention provides the advantages of a rigid child restraint seat anchor while overcoming the disadvantages associated with current approaches. The invention is an adjustable anchor assembly to provide an anchor for a child restraint seat at the intersection of a back cushion and a bottom cushion of a seat in the interior of an automobile. The adjustable anchor assembly includes a housing which is designed to mount to a support member adjacent the intersection of the back and bottom cushions. An anchor member has an attachment end designed to provide an attachment for the child restraint seat and a mounting end. An adjustment device adjustably interconnects the housing with the mounting end of the anchor and is operable to change the distance between the housing and the anchor member. The anchor assembly according to the present invention may be retracted to a position such that the anchor point is hidden at the intersection of the seat cushions. When a user wishes to connect a child restraint seat, the anchor assembly may be adjusted so as to cause the attachment end of the anchor member to protrude from the intersection of the seat cushions so as to provide a secure attachment point.